


Take a Bite of My Heart

by JustAPassingGlance



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAPassingGlance/pseuds/JustAPassingGlance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything in Blaine Anderson's life was perfect until he turned 17 and started feeling sick. As it turned out, he wasn't getting sick, he was just becoming something else. </p><p>(Dalton AU with an incubus/werewolf twist.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Everything in Blaine's life had been perfect before he turned seventeen. He was doing well in school, his fencing team had won five championships in a row, and the Warblers, Dalton’s show choir, had been nationally ranked every year he had been with them.  

He also had the most perfect boyfriend. Andrew Hughes was a fellow Warbler, first chair violinist, avid swimmer, and, in Blaine’s opinion, the actual dictionary definition of the word “dreamboat”.

He and Andrew had been friends for a few years before they started dating. Truth be told, Blaine had been slow on the uptake when it came to his feelings for Drew. As they got older it became increasingly obvious that Drew liked him but Blaine had been too distracted chasing after older boys who had no interest in returning his affections to notice.

Then one day, while doing chemistry homework in Andrew’s room, Blaine had looked over at Andrew and felt his heart skip a beat. He had spent the next two weeks fantasizing about kissing him between classes and eating dinner at their own little table for two in the Dalton dining hall. He dreamed about nervously being reintroduced to his parents as “my boyfriend, Blaine.” He, in turn, he would reintroduce Drew to his parents while holding each other’s hands for strength and comfort in the face of the uncertainty as to how the, somewhat traditional and conservative Andersons would react.  

Such dreams had since become a reality. Whenever Drew called home, Frank and Blaine also spent at least five minutes talking about the Buckeyes while Drew pretended he was more bored than he really was. Blaine had brought Drew home for a long weekend four months after they started dating and, even though they weren’t allowed to share a room, his parents had been cautiously welcoming to his boyfriend. His mother referred to Drew as “that nice boy you’re seeing” and even his father asked about him when they talked.

They didn't kiss between classes because Andrew wasn't a fan of PDA but they did hold hands as they worked together in the library and ate side-by-side at every meal. And it was with increasing frequency that Blaine convinced Andrew to sneak to his dorm room so they could spend the night together.

But then, at the peak of his happiness, things started to change. The month after his seventeenth birthday, Blaine began feeling sick; he was tired all the time and never hungry, despite the fact that he was hardly eating anything. He would wake up in the middle of the night feeling flushed and feverish, but during the day he was so cold he couldn’t keep from shivering even with his blazer and a sweater on.  On the worst days his entire body ached so much getting out of bed was all but an impossible task.

Convinced it was nothing more than a case of the flu, and not wanting to trouble his parents, he made a doctor’s appointment for himself. At the end of the appointment Dr. Edelman half shrugged and said that it was probably nothing.

But the symptoms continued. After a week of “lots of rest and plenty of fluids” he went back and had some more tests done. They all came back the same. Negative. Nothing medically wrong. A change in diet perhaps? Or take it easy on the extra-curriculars, decrease the stress in his life.  Tiredness in teens was becoming more and more common, especially in the ones, like him, who were taking upper level classes and keeping themselves busy from sun up until sun down with sports and clubs. Not to mention the pressures from SATs and the first thoughts of college applications. Dr. Edelman assured him it wasn’t the first case he had seen of a high-schooler who had just burned himself out.

With the spring semester winding down, Blaine refused to lose any more of his year to bed rest and he had gone back to his regular life, albeit dragging his feet more than normal. No matter how much coffee he drank or how much sleep he got, he couldn’t shake the deep-seated exhaustion he felt.

The end of finals was a relief for everyone, but especially for him. The long summer months stretched out before him, mostly free of obligation and time enough to relax and shake off whatever illness or exhaustion he suffered from.

Blaine spent as much of the summer as he could lazily wrapped in his boyfriend’s arms. His aches slowly diminishing, although the tiredness remained.

"You look like you're feeling better," Andrew said in mid-July as they lounged side by side at the edge of the Anderson's pool. Normally Drew could happily spend all day swimming laps while Blaine watched from the deck but that afternoon he had declared it was time they started on their summer reading and laid his towel down.  

Blaine put his book down, flipped himself over, and draped himself across Drew, his arms creating a pillow for his chin. "I don't know what it is," he grinned up at his boyfriend, eyes tracing out the familiar contours of his face, down his neck, and settling on his collarbone. "The sun. You," he pressed a fleeting kiss to Andrew's chest, "but I _do_ feel good."

Andrew's breath had stuttered to a stop and his gaze flickered back and forth between Blaine's eyes and his lips. "That's good."

"Yeah. Good," he had said, suddenly just as breathless as Andrew.  

After he had started feeling sick, Blaine had insisted they stopped being intimate, not wanting Andrew to catch whatever he had. Andrew had been very patient and respectful of the new boundaries they had set but sticking to chaste kisses had been frustrating for them both. They both agreed that their months of abstinence had somehow brought them closer together as a couple but it had been much too long for a pair of teenaged boys since they had been intimate.

And on that mid-July day with Blaine feeling better than he had in months and their brains hazed with desire, neither of them could think of a reason to keep up with their self-imposed celibacy.

At the same time Andrew bent his head down, Blaine surged upwards. Their teeth clanged together, causing them both to wince. But with that first brush of their lips, Blaine could feel every cell in his body come alive.

Of their own accord, Blaine’s hands had come up to cup Drew's face and entwine in his hair as he hungrily deepened the kiss, mind screaming at him for having deprived them of _this_ for so long. He kept kissing and kissing, even as he realized something was wrong, that Andrew had stopped responding.

With a monumental effort, he pulled himself away, staring in horror as Andrew's ashen body slumped onto the water-damp concrete. 

He didn’t know how but, as he watched in horror as Drew was loaded into the back of an ambulance, he knew that, somehow, in whatever impossible way, he had been responsible.  

A week later, and three days after Andrew had been discharged, Blaine ended their relationship. He did it over the phone because he didn’t trust himself to be in the same room as Drew. But the distance hadn’t stopped him from perfectly picturing the way Drew’s face had contorted from confusion to heartbreak to betrayed anger. Guilt gnawed away at him and was made all the worse by the fact that he couldn’t offer an adequate explanation, even to himself. All he could do was stutter out that things were moving too fast and he just wasn’t ready.

For the rest of the summer he let his guilt eat him alive until just before the start of the school year when he confided in his Uncle Felix. Felix was considered a bit of an eccentric by the rest of the family but he always listened to Blaine's problems seriously, like they mattered to someone more than just him. Blaine found himself spilling the truth over just how sick he had been, the extent of which he had mostly managed to hide from his parents, the incident with Andrew, and the fear that he was the cause of it.  

Even with this, he expected Felix to look at him with concern, or like he was crazy and just imagining things. He hadn't expected his uncle's face to crumble as he signed in resignation and whispered, "we thought you were safe."

Blaine was too afraid to ask what it was he had supposedly been safe from but his uncle told him anyways. Told him about his aunt—his mother's sister and Felix's wife—who had been killed in a car accident two years before he was born.

Succubus was the word Felix used for her; incubus, though was the word used for men. Mostly human, but part something else. Something that fed off other people's energy.  They preferred sexual energy, Felix was eventually able to get say, while staring straight at the ceiling and after a few nervous rounds of throat clearing, but when they were hungry enough any energy would do. At times like that, just a touch could trigger his powers.

In as far as they knew, Succubi, at least the women, showed themselves in early teenage years, often just before or coinciding with puberty. The family had breathed collective sighs of relief as Blaine, Cooper, and their three female cousins had grown without signs of being different.

Felix wasn’t able to tell Blaine much more. While he knew of his late wife's condition, it had always been something she had hated talking about. He was quick, however, to assure Blaine that it was manageable. That it had never affected their relationship and she had lived a normal life.

Blaine didn't believe him though. How could he when he finally recognized that what he was feeling was a ravenous, insatiable appetite? A desire to feed off humans, his friends and family, and leech their energy, their life force, from them.

He vowed himself to a life of starving his incubus side; refusing to hurt anyone ever again the way he had Andrew. At his weakest he would allowed himself lingering moments of physical contact but it was never enough. A quick burst that disappeared almost as quickly as it came as the people he was touching suddenly experienced a dizzying wave of tiredness.

It wasn't the energy that he so fiercely craved. But it was enough to keep him going.

* * *

 

Going back to school in September, he felt worse than he had at any point the year before. Whatever restorative effect the beginning of the summer had started to have on him had been summarily annihilated after his break up.

Starving himself was hard enough while he was locked away in his room but his steadfast will to never again give in to his hunger began to crumble as he was forced to reintegrate with the entire student body. Ignoring it became almost impossible in the face of so people who were filled with youthful, lustful energy as his own energy rapidly dwindled.

"If my dog looked like that, my dad would have him taken out back and shot."

Looking up from his lunch, Blaine found himself surrounded by half of the lacrosse team. He assumed he had missed some part of the conversation because the statement by itself did not warrant the riotous gale of laughter that it received.

"Hello," Blaine said half politely and half pointedly. The lacrosse team was the only team that almost exclusively kept to themselves and he had never had any interaction with any of them before. "May I help you?"

A tall boy that Blaine had definitely never seen before made his way to the front. It was less that he pushed his way through and more that the group subconsciously parted before him. He stared down at Blaine with a piercing, indescribable look. "I'm Sebastian Smythe." 

"I'm Bl-" he started to introduce himself in turn but was cut off by Sebastian's dismissive wave and a smirk that clearly said 'I know who you are.'

"Just wanted to say hello." Sebastian's penetrative stare switched to a flirtatious grin. "See you around, Blaine Anderson." With a barely perceptible nod of his head, he and the rest of the lacrosse team slunk away to their own table.

"What was that about?" In tandem, Nick and Jeff, two of Blaine’s closest Warbler friends, slid into their regular seats across from Blaine. Jeff's tray nearly slipped off the edge of the table as he distractedly looked after Sebastian and his retreating posse.

Blaine's arms shot out to keep his friend’s lunch from falling to the floor. "They wanted to say hello?" He said, feeling as bemused as they looked.

"The new kid," Nick hissed as he continued to unabashedly stare at them, "he keeps looking at you."

Blaine resisted the urge to look over his shoulder for confirmation. His shoulders were tensed and the hair on the back of his neck was prickling, alerting him to the fact that someone was definitely staring at him.

"What do you know about him?" He asked. Nick and Jeff were two of the biggest gossips at school. Between the two of them, they always knew everything that was going, often within seconds of whenever it happened.

"Nothing," Jeff sounded disappointed in himself while Nick shook his head dejectedly. "He got snapped up by the lacrosse team too quickly. I guess he was All Star at his old school? Or played in a league with some of them? They all seemed to know him when he got here."

"He's already been made captain," Nick added, eager to add his own information to the conversation.

Blaine nodded, none of the information surprising to him. Based on how the rest of the team had treated him, it only made sense that he had been made captain. The lacrosse team always had a weirdly deferentially view of their captains, more so than any other team.

"Why?" Jeff's eyes lit up gleefully. "Are you interested?"

"No." He was still heart-sore over his break up with Andrew, a pain that was only getting worse every time he saw the other boy in the hallways or during Warblers rehearsal. Besides, his new _condition_ , meant he would have to keep himself from ever being interested in anyone ever again.

Nick winked knowingly. "Okay. But when you do become interested…" He grinned.

"He is very good looking," Jeff provided. "I saw their practice Thursday. Shirts and skins." He mimicked fanning himself in an over-dramatic fashion.

"You'll be the first to know," Blaine promised placatingly, knowing full well that there never would be anything for either of them to know.

* * *

 

It felt like everywhere he went, Sebastian's eyes were on him. And if he wasn't there, a member of the lacrosse team was, watching him with the same hawk-eyed look as their captain.

It was unnerving, to say the least. While Blaine certainly reveled in being the center of attention when he was performing, he found it to be completely off-putting when he was anywhere but on the stage.

"Is there a reason that you're stalking me?" He demanded, cornering Sebastian in the library after study hall, the only class they had together without any of Sebastian's friends.

Sebastian's mouth unfurled into a toothy grin. "Yes," he said. "There is." He didn't even look back to appreciate Blaine's gob-smacked face as he stalked through the stacks to collect his books.

* * *

 

"So?" Lately, Blaine felt like he was the one stalking Sebastian, trailing after him and trying to discern what it was about him that had the other boy so interested. He had followed Sebastian to the local coffee shop and spent twenty minutes peering in through the windows before steeling himself and marching inside.

"You took longer then I thought you would." Sebastian looked up from the book he was reading, carefully sliding a bookmark between the pages to keep his place. "Your coffee is probably cold by now.” With one hand he gestured to the empty seat and awaiting cup across from him and with the other he motioned for the barista to bring a fresh one for Blaine.

In tongue-tied confusion Blaine took the seat, barely managing to re-gather his composure enough to thank the barista who returned with his drink. To cover up his awkwardness, he took a long sip.

"Medium drip with a hint of cinnamon," he laughed in surprise. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know my coffee order. But," he licked his lips in contemplation, “there’s something different.”

Sebastian smirked. “I added some nutmeg. To give your life a bit more spice."

"My life has spice enough."

Sebastian quirked a disbelieving eyebrow. 

"It does!"

"Please. I've been watching you for weeks. That coffee," he nodded at the ceramic mug, "is as spicy as your life gets."

Blaine face suddenly stopped battling a blush and turned serious, recalling his purpose in being there. "Why?"

"There are some mysteries even I can't solve. You're young. You're attractive. Why you're living a life even an 80-year-old retiree would find boring is beyond me." He spread his hands to emphasis the hopelessness of the situation. "I'm as concerned as you are." He reached across the table to lay a mockingly worried hand over Blaine's but Blaine yanked his away before he could, nearly knocking his coffee to the floor in the process.

"That's not-" The blush made a valiant effort to reappear. "I meant," he tried again, "why have you been following me?"

"It strikes me that we aren't really friends, Anderson," Sebastian announced as though it was a thought that just occurred to him.

"Normally, my friends call me Blaine."

He didn't mind spending time with Sebastian, actually he found himself weirdly enjoying being in his company. But he was becoming continually frustrated with the way he kept dodging Blaine's question. Sebastian had admitted, twice now, that he had a specific interest in him but he wouldn't tell him why. And he knew it went beyond him being a potential conquest, despite what the rest of the Warblers seemed to think. "And that isn't-"

"Fifteen minutes of your friendship," Sebastian said, staring at him in the same intent way he always did, "until we finish our coffee. Then I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Blaine sighed and forced himself to make light conversation with his classmate as the shop bustled around them. They talked about classes and afterschool activities. Despite lacrosse not being in season in the fall, the team still had practice every day after school 'to stay in shape for the season' and most of them belonged to an outside year-long league.

In turn, Blaine told him about the antics the Warblers got up to and the latest debate over whether the Dalton uniform should be adjusted for competitions. Ultimately, it had been decided that changing their iconic blazer would be going against their values and everything they stood for and the suggestion had been discarded without even being included in the minutes so as to not embarrass them to any future generations who might read it.

Sebastian remained tight-lipped about his home life and family, skating around Blaine's questions in a masterful way that suggested it was something he did without even thinking about. Blaine supposed he could respect that. Everyone had their secrets and if there was something about his family that Sebastian didn't want to share, he certainly wouldn't be the one to press, especially so early in their apparent friendship. When it came time to talking about his own family, Blaine always dodged the question about siblings, only muttering 'older brother. But we aren't very close.' before changing the topic entirely.

Sebastian's desire for privacy, however, did not extend to other aspects of his life. He made more than a few heavy handed insinuations as to his preferred weekend activities which included bemoaning the drinking age and the fact that the gay population of Ohio was rampant with repressed 50-year-old men with beer guts and back hair but lacking in anyone who people would actually want to sleep with.

"OSU," Blaine responded without thinking, once again feeling flustered under Sebastian's inquisitive look. "It's in Columbus,” he quickly explained. “I don't know where they go, but there must be a bar or a club that their gay students enjoy. And they can't all be bears." Blaine felt more than a little vindicated when Sebastian's laughing snort at his use of the word 'bears' turned into a spluttering choke as he inhaled the rest of his drink.

"Well," Sebastian struggled to regain his dignity as he pushed back his chair. "You've been very patient." There was something about the condescending tone that made Blaine feel like he was being patted on the head for a job well done. "Come on."

Begrudgingly, Blaine followed him out the door and away from the main streets. They walked in a strained silence to the outskirts of town and onto one of Westerville's many wooded trails.

"Do I need to text someone? Let them know that I'm with you in case I'm never seen again."

"If you want. You should also include a description of the clothes you're wearing. And what I'm wearing. Although, presumably, I would be smart enough to destroy them once I'd disposed of your body. And the best part of wearing nondescript clothing," he pulled at his plain cotton t-shirt, "is there are a million people who own the same shirt and a million reasons I might have lost it."

Blaine laughed. "I should be worried that you've given killing me this much thought."

"My dad's a prosecutor. I grew up on lectures about how to not be stupid while committing a crime." He tilted his head and scrunched up his nose contemplatively, "Or maybe the take-away was supposed to be not committing crimes in general." He shrugged and waved a dismissive hand at the inconsequential lessons of his past.

At some point they had started following a trail that was only obvious to Sebastian. Blaine assumed he was leading them to a clearing or a grove; a favorite personal spot of his where he came to think and be alone. But when they stopped it was in a section that looked the exact same as the quarter mile they had just hiked through to get there.

"So?" Blaine prompted when it became clear Sebastian was waiting for him to say something. He folded his arms across his chest and did his best to convey how serious he was about actually getting an answer to his question this time.

Sebastian leaned in close and inhaled deeply before shaking his head in frustrated confusion.

"There's something about you. I just can't put my finger on it." He brought one long finger up to poke at the center of Blaine's chest. "None of us can. So the real question, Blaine Anderson, is: what are you?"

"Excuse me?" His mind blankly scrambled for a response and he felt like he should be more offended at the question than he was. What, Sebastian had asked. Not who. 

Sebastian breathed in again, nose ghosting over Blaine’s collarbone and up to his neck, a hairsbreadth away from touching. He rocked back onto his heels and seemed to rethink his tactics. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he said with a devilish grin, voice coming out in a rumble.

"Excuse me?" Blaine found himself saying again, this time in shock. A shock that only increased as Sebastian reached up and tugged off his nondescript shirt and undid his belt before pulling down the zipper of his jeans. Blaine's mouth worked wordlessly as Sebastian pushed his pants and underwear off his hips and kicked them to the side.

He winked. "And you haven't even seen the most exciting part yet." He had barely finished his sentence before his body went rigid and his jaw clenched in a pained grimace.

"Are you-?" Blaine stepped forward, sure that Sebastian was about to have a seizure and completely unsure about how to help him. Was he supposed to hold him still, or just let his body convulse? Frantically, he looked around for a safe place to move him to, but everywhere he looked there were either rocks or fallen branches and trees. _Make sure he doesn't swallow his tongue_ , a voice that sounded like his mother's floated from the back of his mind and he took another tentative step forward.

With a grunting breath, Sebastian held out his hand and managed a shake of his head, stopping Blaine in his tracks.

Before his eyes, Sebastian's back and shoulders arched into a hunch, forcing him to kneel to the ground while his arms and legs bent in on themselves, twisting and contorting until they were unrecognizable as human limbs. His teeth, nose, and ears were pushed forward and elongated. At some point in the process, although Blaine couldn't quite pinpoint when, Sebastian's skin bristled into a furry coat.

The entire transformation took less than three minutes and when it was done, Blaine was left staring at what was unmistakably a wolf. A dark cinnamon-brown wolf with a lighter underbelly and muzzle.

"Sebastian?" He asked incredulously. Despite what he had just seen, his mind refused to believe it.

The wolf.…grinned; its tongue lolling out of its mouth and its teeth glinting in the rays of sun that filtered down through the canopy of trees. It pranced a few steps forward, ears perked up in excitement and tail wagging in self-satisfied pleasure.

Before Blaine could process what had just happened, the wolf was turning back; its fur disappearing and bones twisting themselves back to their normal shape, leaving Sebastian in a panting heap on the ground.

"It hurts less the closer it is to a full moon," he assured as he gingerly pushed himself to his feet. Completely ignoring the fact that he was still naked, he began stretching, much in the same way as he did before and after lacrosse practice.

Not that Blaine had recently made it a habit to watch lacrosse practices. 

Studiously, Blaine stared off into the trees until he heard the rustle of fabric that meant Sebastian had at least put some pants on.

"So," Blaine cleared his throat after a long, awkward moment, "you're umm… you’re a…?"

"Werewolf," Sebastian nodded authoritatively, standing just a little taller than he normally did and practically preening under Blaine's astounded stare. "Now," he folded his arms across his still bare chest, "I showed you mine."

"I'm not stripping in the middle of the forest," Blaine said bluntly.

Sebastian's eyes lit up. "So nudity is required for your performance?" His eyes raked up and down Blaine's body.

"No!" He exclaimed, "And there is no performance. Unless you want me to break into song. I think there's at least a few verses from _Into The Woods_ that wouldn't be inappropriate right now."

He wanted to tell Sebastian the truth about himself, the words were bubbling up inside him, ready to burst forth at any moment. He had imagined living the rest of his life in isolation from his peers, having always to keep himself hidden. But here… here was an opportunity, if not to be understood, then at least to be heard. But he couldn't bring himself to say them and certainly couldn't show him.

"Well," Sebastian chewed his lip in contemplation, "based on your height I would say leprechaun, but everyone knows that's impossible. You have a pulse. You don't spend an inordinate amount of time in water. You're clearly not one of us. And you smell," he inhaled deeply, "ravenous. And scared." He stalked towards Blaine, his stare causing Blaine to freeze up.

"Succubus," his mouth said without his permission. "Or incubus. Because," he gestured at himself and the fact that he was male. "I feed off people's energy."

"How?" Sebastian looked genuinely curious. "I've just never… Grandpère has stories of succubi, but I don't think he has ever actually met one."

Blaine shifted uncomfortably. "Touch. Apparently we, umm… we prefer sexual energy,” he said the words very quickly. “But we can also just, you know, touch someone," he reached out a hand towards Sebastian's shoulders in mimicry of contact, "and take their energy that way."

"Like this?" With a daring glint in his eyes, Sebastian took two steps forward so that Blaine's hand was pressed up against his chest.

Blaine gasped, knees buckling underneath him as Sebastian's energy flowed through him. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. No one else he had ever touched felt like this.

He wanted more. If just touching Sebastian felt this good, he could only imagine what a kiss would be like. Every fiber of his being needed to press up against Sebastian, tasting his life-force as it crested through him.

He yanked his hand away, horrified at just how willing he had been to just take from Sebastian like that.

Sebastian looked a little pale and shaken, eyes blown wide and breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry," Blaine gasped even as his body yearned to lean into him. "I shouldn't have," he shook his head furiously.

"It's fine. And you didn't do anything. I was the one who walked into your hand," Sebastian assured, voice low and measured like he was talking to a skittish animal.

Blaine glared at him.

"Truly vicious," Sebastian teased. "Come on, killer. I'll walk you home."

"Shirt!" Blaine called at his retreating back. Bending down he scooped it up and chased after Sebastian with it. 

* * *

 

Knowing each other's secrets created an irrefutable bond between Blaine and Sebastian. Blaine had never thought he would be able to tell anyone about him, not without them thinking he was crazy. And not only did Sebastian not think he was crazy but he understood, in his own way. He knew what it was like to be different, to not be human and to go to school every day with people who would never be able to even begin to understand.

Blaine couldn't stay away. He told himself it was because of what they shared, but somewhere deep down he knew that there was just something about Sebastian. Something that drew them together and made him actually want to spend time around the other boy, even at the expense of being joined by the lacrosse team, all of whom were also werewolves and who still hadn't quite warmed to his intrusion into their pack. They tolerated him and begrudgingly talked to him, putting on a show of liking him for Sebastian's sake.

Only one of them, Hunter Clarington, remained truly hostile towards Blaine, glaring suspiciously at his sudden appearance among them and making snide comments whenever Sebastian wasn't paying attention.

The comments, at least, ended in a hallway scuffle with Hunter pinned against a locker and Sebastian growling in his face that if he had a problem with Blaine he should bring it up with Sebastian instead of acting like a pup who had his favorite toy stolen. Hunter had slunk away from the confrontation, fuming but looking contrite nevertheless, or as contrite as he ever could be.

It had been almost a week before he showed himself around Blaine again and his words had been much more welcoming, even if his glare hadn’t been.

Blaine found himself spending more time with Sebastian and his friends than he did with his own. He loved the Warblers but spending 90 minutes with Andrew during practice was more than his heart could take, spending additional time together was out of the question and he didn’t want to ask the rest of the Warbler’s to have to pick between the two of them.

So he removed himself from the equation, not entirely but enough. Sebastian and the rest of the pack didn’t board at Dalton but they spent enough time there they might as well have. And when they weren’t on campus they were heading into town to meet up with the girls of the pack who went to Dalton’s sister school. The group bounced from coffee shops to movie theaters and explored back-alley watering holes that Blaine never even knew existed.

He couldn’t always keep up, werewolves were naturally rambunctious and energetic and most days he woke up feeling too tired to get out of bed. Sebastian always seemed to sense when things became too overwhelming for him and would quietly make their excuses before detaching from the rest. Then they’d head back to the dorms or over to Sebastian’s and put on The Walking Dead and Sebastian would pretend like he didn’t notice that Blaine fell asleep in the middle of the episode.

It was a comfort he hadn’t expected to find and he was grateful for it.


	2. Chapter 2

Blaine was supposed to be down at the track along with the rest of his fencing team but he didn’t even have the energy to make it across the quad, so he had found himself a couch in a secluded corner of the library to curl up in until the end of the period. Luckily, "his doctor" had written him a sick note due to his ongoing and severe case of “mono” so no one was actually expecting him to participate but Coach still wanted him to at least sit on the sidelines during practices.

"You need to stop doing this." Sebastian suddenly appeared to tower over him.

"It's just practice," he grumbled. "And I’m excused. Coach is uncomfortable with the danger of my spleen being pierced by a blade and exploding.”

"Not what I was talking about and you know it." Sebastian pulled up a chair so he could stare disapprovingly down at Blaine. "You can barely stand."

"I'm fine," he hissed. Nervously, he looked around to make sure there was no one who could overhear them.

"Then why aren't you at practice?" Sebastian asked, looking far too pleased with himself.

"I'm doing the best I can. But there's no solution for… _me_." He sighed in resignation. "This is my life from now on."

Sebastian rolled his eyes at Blaine's melodramatics. While Blaine normally had a steady head on his shoulders, he was also always about a step away from going off the deep end. "It doesn't have to be, you idiot."

"No," Blaine said with a stubborn shake of his head. "I told you what happened with Andrew," his throat closed up around the name and it came out as barely more than a whisper. Just saying it made his heart twist and pang in agony. "I'm never going to put anyone in the position again."

"You said your aunt managed."

"My _uncle_ said my aunt managed. And my uncle is the king of ignoring problems in the hopes they'll go away." He didn't bother keeping his voice down. He could practically see Sebastian's ears straining as he monitored their surroundings.

Even in his human form, he had dog-like hearing, something Blaine frequently took advantage of by standing down the hallway from him and muttering under his breath in hopes of getting the other boy to laugh in the middle of serious conversations he was having.

"There's another option." Sebastian leaned in closer to Blaine, fingers skating over Blaine's leg and coming to rest in a reassuring squeeze just above his knee.

"What's that? Know of some secret vitamins I can take?"

"Actually, there is a debate about whether dried placenta…" Sebastian said conversationally, the opportunity to gross Blaine out a happy tangent.

By the way his smirk grew, Blaine knew that his disgust was clearly showing on his face. "Stop talking. Now. Or it will be you I'm sucking the life out of. And I'll be more than happy to do it," he joked.

"Exactly," Sebastian said seriously.

"I was kidding." It was Blaine's turn to roll his eyes. "Aren't wolves supposed to be better at self-preservation that that?"

"You wouldn't hurt me."

Blaine felt anger bubble up beneath his skin. "It took less than one minute for me to put Andrew in the hospital. Don't tell me what I am or am not capable of."

He still saw it every time he closed his eyes. Andrew, sweet caring Andrew who loved and trusted him, just lying there, the life all but drained from him. How casual Sebastian was able to treat that, treat how dangerous he could be, caused him to fume.

"That's not what I meant." Sebastian raised a hand to squeeze at the back of his own neck, a sign of how frustrated he was becoming. "I'm trying to help you," he growled.

"By getting yourself killed?" Blaine snorted. "Your gallantry is appreciated but unwanted."

"No, you idiot." With a huff, Sebastian started digging through Blaine's bag.

Blaine yanked his bag back. "What are you doing?"

Sebastian swatted his hands away, "Looking for something."

“I can see that."

"Just,” Sebastian batted Blaine's hands away again and continued digging through his bag. One item at a time, he pulled out all of Blaine's books and notebooks, huffing in annoyance every time the item he pulled out wasn't the one he was looking for.

"If you told me what you were looking for, I could help you find it and you could stop ransacking my things."

Sebastian dumped the bag upside down and gave it a shake. A few pens fell out of it and rolled across the table and an old receipt fluttered to the floor. "I was looking for a pair of scissors," he clarified, as he started sifting through Blaine's notebooks.

"Sorry, I stopped carrying those with me in kindergarten." Blaine rolled his eyes. He knew that it was more likely than not that Sebastian had no intention of cleaning up the mess he had just made. He watched in resignation as Sebastian grabbed his English syllabus and started prying the staple from the upper left-hand corner.

"Ah-ha," Sebastian declared as he pulled it free. Then, with an air of frustrated triumph, Sebastian dragged the pointed end of the staple up the length of his forearm. "See?"

"No." Blaine sank back into the couch. He decided that Sebastian would be putting his bag back together whether he wanted to or not. "I don't see."

There was nothing to see, as far as Blaine could tell. It didn't even look like the skin had been broken. For a brief moment, a red line had sprung in the path of the staple, but the skin had already turned back to its normal shade. "Look," he sighed, "I appreciate whatever it is you're trying to do but-"

"No," Sebastian snarled, his voice suddenly roughened and inhuman and octaves lower than it normally was. His eyes were glinting gold and his nose and teeth were slowly elongating.

"What are you-?" Frantically Blaine looked around them, checking once again to make sure they really were alone. Ignoring every instinct that was yelling at him to GET AWAY, he crowded closer to Sebastian. "Are you okay?" He asked, voice low with concern. "What's happening?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but let out a rumble that echoed reassuringly from his throat.

Then he bit himself.

Blaine recoiled in horror as Sebastian’s razor canines withdrew from his arm, leaving behind punctures that shown crimson before they started gushing blood.

"What the fuck?" His hands scrambled to pull off his blazer and pressed it frantically against Sebastian's arm. "Why the fuck would you do that, Sebastian?"

The wound looked deep but not deep enough to have done any serious musculoskeletal damage. If they just applied enough pressure until they got to the nurses’ office, Sebastian should be fine. He probably wouldn’t even need more than a couple stitches. Of course, explaining to the nurse exactly what had happened would be another matter altogether. Sebastian's injury was clearly an animal bite and Dalton's library wasn't exactly known for having a ferocious dog problem. And-

"I'm fine," Sebastian said. His face was still tightened in a pained grimace but at least it was human looking again. "Although you know I'll never object to you stripping for me."

"You're not fine," Blaine snapped. To emphasis his point, he pulled his blazer away from Sebastian's arm and gestured angrily down at it. "You're clearly insane and in case you didn't notice you're bl-" The words died in his throat as he looked down. Blood still stained Sebastian’s arm and a final droplet raced its way into the fabric of Blaine's blazer but new skin had already grown over the puncture marks.

Sebastian smirked. "See?"

"But…" Blaine blinked as he stared at Sebastian's forearm, "that's not possible."

"There's a lot about both of us that many would claim was not possible."

Blaine gaped.

"Look, it's really no big deal," Sebastian told him in that annoyingly placating voice the pack all used sometimes. "Really," he reiterated. "Every time I transform, every bone in my body breaks and all of my muscles and ligaments tear. Being a werewolf would be impossible if we healed like humans."

The matter of fact way that Sebastian said it made Blaine’s stomach turn. Although it had been years, he could still sometime feel the phantom ache of his own broken bones. He could hear the echoing of their snaps as they were rendered useless. He never wanted to experience anything like that ever again, never mind have it occur monthly.

“There’s some chemical or something that our body produces an elevated amount of, sort of like a natural pain killer. It doesn’t stop it completely but it isn’t as bad as your face thinks it is either so you can stop looking so horrified.”

“Sorry, I just-”

“Need to stop thinking of us, and yourself, as humans. We aren’t. We’re different, Blaine. Our bodies work differently; we can’t just go to a doctor when we get sick. We need different things. _You_ need different things.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped. “Stop pretending you care just because you want to make out with me.”

“You’re not fine and we both know it. Stop trying to bury your incubus side and accept it for what it is. You’re starving yourself and it isn’t healthy.” Sebastian rolled his eyes. “But I won’t pretend like my motives are completely pure.”

“Nothing about you is completely pure.”

Sebastian grinned, which only served to fuel Blaine’s annoyance.

“And my incubus side,” Blaine spat, fingers making air quotes around the words, “hurts people, Sebastian, in case you forgot. I could actually kill someone. I _have_ sent someone to the hospital. Someone I love and care about very deeply. Someone I would never, ever have hurt if it weren’t for this, this _monster_ inside of me. So no, I’m not going to be accepting that part of myself. I’d rather die than cause that kind of pain to anyone ever again.”

“And you’re going to, you know that right?” Sebastian snarled, pupils dilating dangerously. Even though he had barely moved, his presence suddenly seemed so much greater and more commanding. “That’s what you’re doing to yourself right now. You’re killing yourself, Blaine. And I’m not going to just sit by and watch you do that.”

Blaine tamped down on his anger. Sebastian thought he understood but he couldn’t. Sebastian had years of practice controlling himself while Blaine had no control. All he could do was hurt people. There was no benefit or bonus to his condition, it was just a curse.

“Look, I appreciate that you care. But you can’t help me and you don’t understand. So please, please stop trying.”

“I just showed you that I can help. You aren’t going to hurt me the same way you’d hurt a human. You can’t. It’s physically impossible. Stop being so fucking stupid and pigheaded.”

Blaine’s temper flared again. “You can’t control me like you can the rest of your pack.”

Sebastian ducked his head in defeat. “Just think about it, okay?”

“I said no. Stop pushing this.”

Blaine grabbed his bag up off the table and began shoving all the things that Sebastian had dumped out back into it. “And now I’m going to be late for Warbler practice.”

“I’m just trying to help.” Sebastian said, handing over two pens and a highlighter.

“I’m leaving now.” Blaine snatched the pens from Sebastian’s hand and threw them in alongside everything else. His head was already aching from the thought of having to reorganize it all later but in that moment all he wanted to do was to get away from Sebastian.  “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Dinner? After practice?”

“I’m going to need…” Blaine shook his head. What he was going to need was a nap because he was already exhausted and had barely even done anything all day but telling Sebastian that, especially after the conversation they just had, would only fuel his belief that he was right. “Homework later? I’m meeting with Jeff to work on a project but if you promise to sit quietly you can tag along.”

“Okay.”

Blaine turned to leave. “I get why you’re doing this, Sebastian,” he said turning back. “But I just can’t.” He sighed heavily. “You just need to accept that.”

* * *

 

He tried not to think about what Sebastian had said but sometimes it creeped its way into his thoughts. When he closed his eyes he kept seeing the way Sebastian had healed in seconds from a wound that would have taken anyone else weeks to heal from. Sometimes he found himself believing that maybe, just maybe, he actually wouldn’t be able to hurt him.

And in his weakest moments, which were coming more and more frequently, he found himself remembering that first day in the clearing and the way it had felt to touch Sebastian, even just for a moment.

 But no matter how the thoughts started, or what path the wound through his mind, it always came back to Drew. Drew, unmoving on the ground. EMS lifting him onto a stretcher as the red and white lights of the ambulance reflected off the Anderson’s garage door. The one glance Blaine had of him at the hospital before he chickened out and left without letting anyone know he was there.

Sebastian was right, he was hurting himself. It had reached a point where even he couldn’t deny it. He wasn’t fine and he wasn’t going to be. He was barely holding it together most days as it was. But it was the best of the worst options and no matter how tempted he got, he wasn’t going to give in. He wasn’t going to lose himself to the monster he was becoming.  

* * *

 

Blaine’s phone rang, the screen displaying that it was his mother calling. Feeling too tired to talk and put on his happy, energetic façade he needed for the conversation, he let it go to voicemail. 

 _Blaine, honey? I just got your message. Are you sure you’re doing okay at school? You sound tired, honey_. _Is everything okay with… your condition? Your father and I are worried about you. Call me back when you get a chance. Love you!_

* * *

 

“Mr. Anderson, I need you to stay after class,” Mrs. Kaczynski raised her voice above the bustle of class packing up.

Jeff quirked an eyebrow in inquisitive concern and Blaine shrugged in response. Mrs. Kaczynski was one of his favorite teachers but she hardly ever concerned herself in the lives of her students, unless someone was really in trouble. He hadn’t been doing as well as he could have on some of his assignments recently but he hadn’t been failing.

He finished packing his own bag and slowly made his way up to the front of the classroom, Jeff hovering just over his shoulder.

“You wanted to see me?” He asked nervously.

“I did. Let’s talk in my office.” She looked pointedly over Blaine’s shoulder.

Jeff smiled awkwardly. “Later,” he said quickly, hurrying away with his head down.

All of the teachers’ offices were located in the basement of the building and Mrs. Kaczynski and Blaine walked all the way down in silence. When they got to her office, Mrs. Kaczynski pointed Blaine to one of the chairs around a small, circular table.

She spent a long moment hovering over her desk, putting down her materials from class and clicking around on her computer before joining him.

“I’m going to be very candid with you, Mr. Anderson,” she said, clasping her hands on the tabletop in front of her. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Blaine sat up straighter.

“Some of the faculty, myself included, are becoming quite worried about you. You were diagnosed with mono over the summer?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Blaine nodded a little too eagerly. “Just before school started again. My doctor says it was a pretty serious case and that there might be some lingering side effects. I’m still not feeling 100% but we’re closely monitoring it,” he parroted. It was a familiar lie that he had been telling to anyone who listened. In truth, he hadn’t been back to the doctor since he had found out what he was. There was nothing they could do for him anyways.

“And there’s nothing else going on with you?” She left the unsaid ‘you can talk to me’ hang in the air between them.

Blaine bit into his bottom lip.

“Your school work is slipping and, quite frankly, you have been looking like you’re getting worse and not better. If there’s anything else going on, if there’s something other than the mono that’s keeping you from being able to do your work or live your daily life… doing things like sleeping, eating,” she eyed the way Blaine’s blazer was hanging a little too loosely off his frame. “Even if you don’t feel comfortable talking to me, there are other teachers. Or Alycia, the school counselor. All of our doors are open if you ever need them.”

Blaine cringed. He knew his mono story wasn’t going to hold up for long but he hadn’t expected the teachers to be worried that he was developing an eating disorder or that something else was wrong.

“I promise to keep that in mind. I, umm, I broke up with my boyfriend over the summer. Andrew Hughes?” He laughed self-consciously, unsure why he was disclosing such personal information to his teacher but it felt good to get off his chest. “He was the first person I was ever serious with and… It was in July but seeing him every day… I guess it’s just been a lot harder on me than I thought it would be.”

Mrs. Kaczynski leaned back. “First break ups are hard on everyone. And I’m sure the last thing you want to hear is some cliché like ‘time heals all wounds’, even if there is some truth in it.”

“I think it’s just something I need to get through on my own.”

“Just don’t get lost in it. This is a pivotal time in your life. And as big and important as this seems to you,” she shook her head and corrected herself, “as it _is_ to you, your future is just as important. There are no do-overs in life and, unfortunately, far too few second chances.”

He smiled, as bright and reassuring as he could muster. “I’m starting my SAT prep class this week and I’m already looking at colleges. If I’m not starting to feel more myself in the next week or two, I’ll think about what you said, about finding someone to talk to.”

“Very good, Mr. Anderson.” Mrs. Kaczynski was nodding in satisfaction but she was still eyeing him with the same hawk-eyed look that let Blaine know her concern would be carrying on beyond their conversation. “And don’t forget about the essay that’s due Thursday. You can have an extension.”

“I don’t think I need—” Blaine began saying, more out of instinct than fact. He hadn’t even looked at the essay topic yet but was sure he could churn out something in the next two days.

“Turn it in Monday. I’m expected it to be back to your normal standard.”

Bowing his head in acceptance he said, “Thank you, Mrs. Kaczynski. It will be.”

* * *

 

The door to Blaine’s room flew open, the knob banging against the side of his desk. He started but didn’t even bother to look up, over the last few weeks he had gotten used to Sebastian barging into his room unannounced. He seemed to take for granted the fact that everyone would always want him around.

“You might be able to control it.” Sebastian sat down on the edge of Blaine’s bed. With Blaine sitting at his desk, diligently attempting to work on his essay, it was the only place in the room left. “Or at least Grandpère thinks so.” Sebastian took everything his grandfather said as gospel. A lot of it was pack mentality but there was something very human about the way Sebastian’s eyes glowed with respect and love whenever the senior male was mentioned.

“Control it?” Blaine could sooner imagine controlling the ocean than he could the malcontent hunger that constantly gnawed away at the inside of him.

Leaning back, Sebastian kicked his legs up onto the bed. “He doesn’t know of any hybrid that can’t. It’s evolutionary or something.” He shrugged. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his e-mail. “There’s more to being human than just looking human,” he read from the screen, voice lowered and slightly accented, presumably in impersonation of his grandfather. “I’m sure your friend, Blaine, can master himself. From all you have said, he has a good head on his shoulders.”

“You talk to your grandfather about me?”

Sebastian winked.

Blaine felt the back of his neck grow warm and his lips curl into a pleased smile. He couldn’t help but like the idea that Sebastian talked about him to other people in his life. That his grandfather knew more about Blaine than the fact that he was a succubus.  _Has a good head on his shoulders._  That meant Sebastian actually talked about  _him_.

“Anyway,” Sebastian cleared his throat. Unless the light was playing tricks, he seemed a little flushed himself. “He has two theories.”

With a tired wave of his hand, Blaine gestured for Sebastian to continue. More than anything, he wanted to believe that he didn’t need to be resigned to a future where his inner succubus controlled his life. He wouldn’t dare to hope, no matter what he heard. But he desperately wanted to believe.

“First, he thinks you should be able to saturate yourself. Sort of like a sponge. You suck up people’s energy because you’re hungry for it. But after a point, you’ll have taken in all the energy you need and the rest just won’t absorb.”

“I don’t know,” Blaine said skeptically. “Even when I’ve allowed myself to… touch, the hunger doesn’t go away.”

“You’ve never even come close to allowing yourself to be satiated, though,” Sebastian pointed out. He swung his feet back down to the ground and leaned forward to crowd Blaine’s space. “A touch here and there,” he let his hands brush over Blaine’s blazer-clad arms and shoulder, “is hardly going to do anything.”

Blaine shied away from his touch. “And the other theory?”

“He’s less sure about it, but he thinks you might actually be able to control when you do and don’t take energy. Even when you’re not ‘full.’” He brought his hands up to form air quotes around the word. “Over time you might be able to shut it off completely, or at least manage how much you take from people. Control your inner beast, like the rest of us.”

“Does it really take that much control?”

“Sometimes more than others.”

“Like when you’re angry?” He had noticed the way the rest of the pack swarmed whenever one of them got close to a fight in the hallways. The angry party was always bustled away, often into a bathroom or empty classroom, head held low to mask an unnaturally contorted mouth or flashing golden eyes.

Sebastian nodded. “Pups have an especially hard time. Most of us are homeschooled until we’re 7 or 8, just in case. My sister changed whenever she got excited until she was about 5. Christmas morning was the worst; it took forever and you always knew exactly what she thought of your gift. I think one time she forced herself to transform just to put me out of my misery,” his nose wrinkled at the memory.

“Are all pups like that?” Blaine asked casually. In reality what he wanted to know was whether Sebastian had ever been like that.

“Mostly. Although no one is quite as excitable as she is. Well,” Sebastian mockingly glared across the room, “you might be.”

“Hey!” Crumpling up one of his many discarded drafts, Blaine threw it at Sebastian, who easily managed to dodge it.

“The point is that we learn to master the wolf. It might take a little more trial and error with you but there should be something you can do.” He bent down to pick up the paper and threw it back at Blaine, managing to hit his shoulder. “I know you said you wanted me to leave this but if you honestly thought I was going to do that then you don’t—”

As Sebastian spoke, Blaine could see his parent’s faces, his dad’s tight with unexpressed worry and his mother’s crumpling in despair as he let himself wither away. He was weak from starvation and weak because he finally found himself breaking and willing to take a selfish risk.

“Okay,” he interrupted. “But the first time we… try, someone else should be there to keep you from getting hurt. Maybe someone from the pack? Someone who won’t let me hurt you. And,” he added, “no one can know.”

“Those two things seem mutually exclusive.”

He waivered.

“Clarington,” Sebastian said quickly before he could change his mind.

Blaine sighed. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

Sebastian barked out a laugh. “He hates you. But I trust him with my life and he won’t ask questions or tell anyone anything if I tell him not to.”

“Okay,” Blaine agreed reluctantly. “Okay. If Hunter is there. I’m willing to try.”

* * *

 

Beyond just agreeing, it felt like there were a lot of logistics to work out and Blaine kept getting cold feet. He worried about hurting Sebastian, no matter how much Sebastian tried to convince him that it could never happen. He also worried about Hunter finding out about him. The pack knew there was something different about him but Sebastian was the only one to know what.

It was unavoidable, if they wanted him to be there but Blaine barely knew him and, as Sebastian rightly pointed out, he did hate Blaine. Sebastian might trust him with his life but Blaine wouldn’t even trust him to turn in his math homework.

It felt like too big a step, especially when Blaine was still keeping it a secret from his own friends. Sure, Hunter had some idea that something was up, that something about Blaine was different. And as a werewolf, Hunter at least wouldn’t think he was entirely crazy or making a joke.

But he still didn’t feel comfortable with it. It might be an exaggeration to say that Hunter would love to destroy him but he would certainly hold any secret of Blaine’s over his head until at least graduation.

Finally, Sebastian suggested that maybe Hunter didn’t need to know exactly what was going on. If he could just be there it could be enough. Questions, after all, Sebastian had assured him could be answered later. Hunter could be in the room as assurance and, unless something went horribly wrong, he would never have to be any the wiser.

Which lead to Sebastian and Blaine sitting next to each other on one of the couches in seldom-used study room in the Wilson Wing while Hunter sat at a nearby table. The Wilson Wing was one of Hunter's favorite study spots but beyond grumbling that they had better “be quiet if you insist on being here,” (which was directly solely at Blaine but he side-eyed Sebastian as well) he hadn’t said anything, just firmly dragged his chair to the other side of the table so his back was turned to them.

“Are you sure this is—” Blaine whispered.

Sebastian nodded, eyes focusing on Hunter’s hunched shoulders. “It’s fine. Unless you want to…”

“No.” Blaine shook his head, already feeling anxious enough without having to think about having a heart-to-heart with Hunter. “No. As long as you know he’ll—”

“—I do,” Sebastian cut him off again.

Blaine felt frustrated that they couldn’t have the entire conversation again. He knew that he had to be careful about what he said around any of the other werewolves. Even if when they were in human form they could still hear a whisper across a hall, especially if they were trying to listen to it.

“Fine.” Blaine nodded decisively, knowing that if he kept thinking about it he was going to back out again.

Sebastian laid his hand palm up on the cushion between them and wiggled his fingers invitingly at Blaine.

His hand was big. Blaine realized that, despite thinking he knew Sebastian quite well, he had never really paid attention to his hands before. The way his thumb seemed a little more square than the rest of his fingers or the bumpy callouses from lacrosse or weight training.  He liked the way the fingers curled up, even when relaxed.

Someone outside was yelling but they were too far away for the words to come across clearly. Every few minutes Hunter flipped to another page or clicked his pen to write something down. One click open. Three clicks to close.

Sebastian had said it was his biggest pet peeve; Hunter and his damn pen clicking.

With every pen click, Blaine let his hand inch across the cushions. Sebastian sat there, impatiently waiting, but waiting nevertheless. His fingers stopped wiggling and became as still as the rest of him.

Blaine breathed in and on the next triple click, he let their hands brush.

It was like a cool breeze on a stifling summer day. Enjoyable and needed but not enough.

Blaine gathered the remaining dregs of his self-control and focused on them. “You’ll stop me? If I can’t?” He whispered to Sebastian.

“Promise.”

He had thought it was only his own weakness that had let him convince himself that this could be a good idea but in that moment, with Sebastian looking at him so solemn and earnest, he also realized it was because of trust. He trusted Sebastian in a way he had never trusted anyone before, in a way he had never had to trust anyone else.

It didn’t bolster his confidence but it did steady him enough for him to slip his fingers between Sebastian’s.

Blaine swore and let his chin drop down to his chest. There weren’t words to describe the way the assault of Sebastian’s energy felt, especially after so long starving himself. Every part of him was electrified and alive.

And too soon it was all over as Sebastian pulled his hand away, leaving them both dazed on the couch.

“Are you,” Blaine panted, “are you okay?”

Sebastian’s breathing was shallow and he looked a little grey. “Yeah,” he said, his breath starting to even out. “I’m fine. Just wanted to check on you.”

“Good. Yeah. I’m good.” He could feel his lungs expanding with every breath he took and his veins constricting and releasing as his heart hammered blood through his body. “Can we…” he gestured back down at Sebastian’s hand.

“Yeah. Just a minute though.” Sebastian breathed deeply and rolled his shoulders. The color had already returned to his cheeks and his eyes were looking less glassy. “That was intense.”

“Too much?”

In response, Sebastian determinedly reached over and took Blaine’s hand again.

It felt less like an onslaught this time but it went deeper. For almost 10 minutes they just sat there, hands clutched together.

Blaine felt, not just himself, but also, he thought, Sebastian. The wolf mostly, which howled and tore through him. The feeling was addicting and intoxicating and inside, Blaine was screaming for _more_ , _more_ , _more_.

Without thinking, he scooched towards Sebastian and leaned in close. The back of his neck felt hot as his mind was flooded with images of himself kissing Sebastian. Touching him. Or. _Or._

They were both already breathing heavily when their lips first brushed, starting a chain reaction like an exploding supernova in Blaine. He pressed closer, reveling in the way that in one smooth move, Sebastian was turning and leaning back as he moved over him. One of Sebastian’s knees was resting against the back of the couch and his body was twisting still further, opening himself up and creating the perfect spot for Blaine.

Their lips met one more time before Sebastian’s hand was firmly pressed against his chest and pushing him away.

“What’s the matter?” Blaine asked, more sharply than he meant to and forgetting that he should have been trying to keep his voice down. “I thought you wanted me.”

Any response of Sebastian’s was cut off by Hunter who had abandoned his work to tower behind the couch and glower down at them.

“Sebastian?” He growled, although his eyes never left Blaine. He was seeking permission to attack and every muscle in his body was tensed in anticipation.

“We’re fine,” Sebastian said as tightly as he could while gasping for breath. “Go talk to Coach about next week’s practice schedule.”

“I know what I heard. If he—”

“I’m not Coach.”

Hunter glared at both of them and visibly bit back an argument. Stalking back to the table, he slammed his book shut and shoved it roughly into his bag. With equal force, he pushed his chair in and stomped out into the hall.

Embarrassment over his actions was starting to eclipse the intoxicating high he felt and Blaine couldn’t bring himself to face Sebastian again. He tried to turn his attention to anything else in the room, counting the ceiling tiles or examining the intricacies of the ancient rug on the floor, but he couldn’t get his mind to focus. Blaine didn’t know what he was more embarrassed about, the fact that he had read everything with Sebastian so wrong or the fact that he let himself get so out of control.

“It’s not about what I want,” Sebastian said at last, his voice sounding tired and shaky.  “When we first met, you said that incubus like all energy but sexual energy is preferred. You were just acting on instinct.”

It wasn’t entirely true. The incubus in him wasn’t the only part that was attracted to Sebastian. But hadn’t they had a long talk the day before about how it wouldn’t move beyond just hand-holding? Not only because Blaine was afraid he wouldn’t have the ability to control himself also because he was in love with someone else and it would feel dishonest and disrespectful to do anything more.

Blaine wanted to bury his face in his hands, or to run away from the horrible mistake he had just made but Sebastian was still looking like he was recovering from a nasty bout of the flu. Instead, he moved to a nearby chair so that Sebastian could fully stretch out and kept an eagle-eyed watch while Sebastian fitfully dozed.

“Ah,” Sebastian said barely 20 minutes later. He sat up and began stretching out his arms, causing his shoulder to pop loudly. “Good nap.” He cracked his neck too.

“Sebastian! How are you?” Immediately Blaine was crouching at his side, looking him over to make sure he really was okay as he sounded. He poked and prodded at Sebastian, in vague imitation of a doctor and being careful to not directly touch his skin. He was unsure of what he was looking for but found the inspection reassuring.

With an amused smirk, Sebastian tolerated his careful manipulations for longer than Blaine had thought that he would before shaking him off. “I’m fine. Really,” he added to ward off further questioning. “Probably couldn’t run a marathon right now but maybe a 10k.” He winced a little. “At least a 5k.”

“Let me know when you’re up to 10k strength.”

“Enough about me. How are you?”

Blaine sat back on his heels. “Great,” he said with a laugh. He hadn’t realized how dimmed the spark inside of him had gotten. It was like being a new person, except really it was just going back to the person he used to be.

“You know, now that you finally don’t look like you’re seconds away from collapsing, I can see why everyone thinks you’re so cute.”

“Shut up.” Grabbing a pillow, Blaine swatted at Sebastian’s knee.

Not expecting Sebastian to hit back, he did nothing to brace himself. When Sebastian snatched up his own pillow and swung it at him, Blaine had to rock backwards to avoid it causing him to nearly fall over. His arms wind-milled out and if it weren’t for Sebastian’s hand snaking out to seize his, he would have fallen directly on his ass.

Panic flared as Sebastian’s energy surged against him and he struggled to clamp down on the impulse to take it from him. It didn’t work, not entirely, but it slowed the intake down to a manageable stream.

Maybe everything Sebastian’s grandfather had said wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

Regaining his balance, Blaine pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. “Umm, thank you for doing this. It really means a lot. And I’m sorry. About before. With…” he trailed off and gestured between them.

“Forget about it. No harm, no foul. Or one of those many platitudes Coach is trying out this month.” Sebastian grinned easily, although more strained than he had been a minute before.

Blaine smiled back. “Consider it forgotten.”


End file.
